District second-round golf course could be more to Bulldogs' liking

By SKIP LEON Skip.Leon@hearstnp.com

Published 11:34 am, Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

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Plainview senior Troy Velasquez drives off the first tee at the Plainview Country Club during a tournament earlier this season. The Bulldogs are in second place after the opening District 4-5A round, just 11 shots behind Lubbock Cooper. And the second-round course in Abilene could be more to the their liking. less

Plainview senior Troy Velasquez drives off the first tee at the Plainview Country Club during a tournament earlier this season. The Bulldogs are in second place after the opening District 4-5A round, just 11 ... more

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

District second-round golf course could be more to Bulldogs' liking

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Coach Mike Lewis and his Plainview High golfers had to be pleased with their showing in the opening round of District 4-5A play at Lake Ridge Country Club in Lubbock Monday.

The Bulldogs shot a team score of 321 and are just 11 strokes out of first place, which is held by defending district champion Lubbock Cooper. Plainview is 42 strokes ahead of third-place Abilene Cooper as they try to qualify for the regional tournament once again.

Plainview accomplished their strong first round on Lubbock Cooper’s home course. Now, the district campaign shifts to a course that could be more to the Bulldogs’ liking. The second round of the three-round district season will be played April 1 at Maxwell Golf Course in Abilene.

Lewis said his team had a practice round at Maxwell earlier this spring season when their scheduled tournament in San Angelo was cancelled due to inclement weather.

“What I’m happy about is we’re within striking distance of Lubbock Cooper after playing on their home course,” Lewis said. “Now we go to Maxwell April 1. That course is similar to ours.”

And while the Bulldogs do not have a home round at the Plainview Country Club during this district season, the second round at Maxwell might be as close as they can get.

“Maxwell is very similar to our course,” Lewis said. “The greens are smaller like we’re used to. Yardage-wise, it’s about comparable to Plainview. We got rained out in San Angelo before spring break. While I had them down there, we just went and played a practice round in Abilene. We got a little bit of use out of the trip. The kids have seen (Maxwell), so they’ll be more familiar with it.”

While the Bulldogs are looking to make their move as a team at Maxwell Golf Course, four individuals who are all within six shots of the lead could make a bid to move up.

Abilene Cooper’s Riley Casey and Lubbock Cooper’s Judd Tilson are tied for the top spot with 76s. Three Lubbock Cooper golfers are tied for third at 78.

Plainview junior Isaiah Garcia and sophomore Trey Gregory are tied for sixth place at 79, just three shots off the lead. Junior Ryan Castillo is eighth with an 81, five shots out of the top spot. And senior Troy Velasquez is ninth at 82, six shots away from the frontrunners.

The final district round will be April 5 at the Rawls Course in Lubbock. It is a golf course the Plainview linksmen have played on. It’s also a difficult course and should provide a challenging final round of district.

Lewis noted that the Rawls course also is where the regional tournament will be held April 13-14.

“The third round is at Rawls, which is where the regionals are going to be held,” Lewis said. “It’s good playing that round right before regionals at the same golf course.”

The Rawls course will provide a challenge for the district golfers, including the Bulldogs.

“It’s not what we’re used to,” Lewis said. “It’s a long course. It has big greens. There are a lot of sand traps, stuff we can’t practice. The more you can play that course, you learn something each time.”

With the top two teams in district qualifying for the regional tourney, Plainview appears poised for another run at the regionals. They hold a 42-shot lead over third-place Abilene Cooper with two district rounds left.

With their top four players back from last season, the Bulldogs could be looking to improve on last year’s 10th-place showing the middle of next month.